Page 13 - LESSION 20.pmd

Understanding Diversity

be concerned about the skills being taught by the toy/play material. Say, for
example, a ball may be used to develop motor skills and teaching about sphere.
A doll will aid in teaching about the body parts. A gender-sensitive teacher Notes
would choose a doll, a car, or building blocks for a child to play with on the
basis of the skills each toy develops and not according to the sex of the child.
Teacher can choose gender-neutral toys like puzzles, blocks, clay etc. to
encourage both the genders to use and play with them.

20.5.2 Telling Stories

Children enjoy listening to stories and narrating them. Stories provide an
opportunity for language development and present the curricular content in an
interesting manner. Carefully chosen stories will also help in building gender
equitable and sensitive classrooms. While deciding the stories, pay attention to
the characters in the tales and how the different sexes are portrayed in the story
and the characteristics assigned to boys and girls. Are all males working outside
house, in farm or factories or in office in the story? Are the women always
depicted as fair and beautiful? Are fairies always girls? Are villains always men
of huge size? Are girls depicted as working in the kitchen, doing household
chores?

After telling the story, engage children in a discussion by asking questions related
to role reversals of characters. Tell a story where the mother instead of the
father goes to office and the father prepares food. The mother goes to the market
to buy equipment and the father cleans the house. The parent of mother live
with the family, etc.

20.5.3 Encourage Fair Play
Instead of encouraging girls to play with kitchen set, arrange all the toys within
easy reach of all children and allow choices without telling children of a
particular gender what to play with or what not to play with. Let children decide
what they want to play with. Offer structured time to play with kitchen set, ball,
swings etc. to all children. Provide opportunity for all children to play outdoor
games like cricket, hockey, kho- kho, kabaddi, football etc.

20.5.4 Encourage Friendships

Encourage children to be friends with both genders. If adults relate to a girl
and a boy playing together as "a cute pair", it may bring unnecessary tension,
polarity and confusion to the friendship. Encourage team play with each team
having boys and girls instead of always selecting the easiest way to create two
teams based on the sex.

EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION 197